Contrary to much public thought on the part of American officials, Canada is not a gateway for illegal immigration into the United States, but rather, the reverse is true. It is actually more common for illegal immigrants arrive in the U.S. before trying to gain status in Canada, according to official documents obtained by Wikileaks.
“There continues to be incidences where applicants try to cover up prior orders of removal or unlawful presence in the U.S.” wrote American consulate official Phillip Chicola in a 2010 message to the White House. “Usually, these applicants have only recently arrived in Canada to seek legal status after residing unlawfully in the U.S. for years.”
The internal communications were released by Wikileaks, a website that has become notorious for its whistle-blowing, particularly with regards to the U.S. government. This latest leak will do little to boost the credibility of American officials’ claims that Canada is a safe-haven for potential terrorist threats.
However, the document also shows that Canada’s own authorities perhaps need to do more to bolster security if the country is granting status to illegal aliens, according to analysts such as Don DeVoretz, a B.C. professor of economics.
“There`s a suggestion here that perhaps Canada is not doing due diligence, ” says DeVortez.”People fail (to live legally) somewhere else and we’re sort of letting them in.”
Some critics suggest that an immigrants’ past movements should be given more consideration by Canadian authorities when assessing their applications for residency status.
Source: Globe and Mail